


every face would have an apple slice smile.

by corpsefaking



Series: i come from a russian horror fairy tale. [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Griddy’s Doughnuts (Umbrella Academy), Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:15:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26648890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corpsefaking/pseuds/corpsefaking
Summary: It’s been two months since Five disappeared and Vanya is sure that her siblings are going to Griddy’s without her..Or, six upset thirteen year olds crammed into one booth with a box of 40 doughnuts... what could go wrong?
Series: i come from a russian horror fairy tale. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938913
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	every face would have an apple slice smile.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is prequel to something quite a bit longer, but can also be read on its own.  
> title is from "Love is a Crow" by Jealous of the Birds, series title is from "Сказка" by IC3PEAK

**every face would have an apple slice smile.**

It’s January, Five is gone and Vanya thinks her siblings are going to Griddy’s without her.

It’s a stupid thing to be upset about, what with Five disappearing ( _ not _ running away) only two months ago, but everything has gone back to normal. Things had never stopped being normal.

Her siblings seem to have moved on, from what little she sees of them. It’s just - it’s as if  _ nothing  _ had happened. As if they hadn’t spent three tireless nights searching until Dad confined them to their rooms for two weeks. As if there isn’t a painting of their brother staring down at them from above the fireplace. As if there isn’t an empty seat at the dinner table.

And now they stopped speaking to her.

Vanya has never spent much time with any of them, except for Five, who somehow managed to stretch out his time between all of them. But now they don’t say  _ anything _ to her.  _ Ever _ .

So, it really is just quite obvious that they’ve started going to Griddy’s again and are leaving Vanya out of it. Because why would they stop going when they loved it? Why would they invite her when the only one of them that ever wanted her there is gone?

And she heard Allison talking to Pogo about distracting Dad earlier, just like before whenever they were planning on sneaking out and  _ still _ none of them have spoken to her. So she’s definitely being left out.

Vanya, trying to work on her Mandarin assignment, hears some noise from the hallway and scowls down at her paper, reaching over to turn up the volume of her music. All she can hear are the instruments (loud and brash) and the vocals (rough and distracting). 

Distracting is good, she needs distraction because the more she thinks about this, the more certain she is that none of them had ever enjoyed her company and the more distraught she is by Five’s disappearance. And she should... well, she knows that two months isn’t a long time, but everyone else seems fine. They were close with him too. So why isn’t  _ she _ fine?

She rubs a hand into her eyes and sighs. She can’t focus on Mandarin right now.

The notebook snaps closed and she shoves her chair back from the desk, feeling the legs scraping against the wood floor. She grabs her portable CD player and stands, starting to move toward her bed, but she finds herself stopping her tracks, stumbling backwards into the chair with a surprised yelp.

“Diego!” she hisses, clutching the CD player to her chest.

He says something that Vanya can’t hear. For a moment, she’s confused as to why, but then, as the song changes, she remembers the headphones and she’s quick to pause the music and pull them off.

“What do you want?” she asks warily.

Diego looks annoyed as he says, “We were wondering if you wanted to come to Griddy’s with us.”

“Oh. Um... why?”

He gives her an odd look. “Because you always come with us?”

Does that mean that they haven’t been going? But why is he inviting her? Just because she usually goes? That doesn’t sound right. Vanya can’t help feeling suspicious.

“Are you coming or not?” he asks, impatient, arms crossed.

“Sure,” she says because she really does miss her siblings, even if she’s uncertain of their reason for asking her to come along. And she hasn’t been past the academy gates in a few months, it’d be nice to go out again.

She puts her CD player on her desk and leaves with Diego. They walk in silence, stepping carefully to avoid drawing their dad’s attention, and meet up with their siblings on the front steps.

They don’t say much as they walk down the street. What is usually a loud, happy occasion is silent and uncomfortable. It feels stiff and heavy and solemn. Even Klaus, who is almost always taking up space and filling up silence, is quiet, staring at his feet as he walks.

Vanya lingers in the back of the group, glancing around, trying to avoid thinking about the very obvious hole in their little group. 

It’s dark. The street lights cast yellow beams on the road, but do very little for the visibility on the sidewalk. There are a few other people out, but not a lot as it’s that in between hour of too late and not late enough. A few of the shops are closed, others are still open, light backing their window displays or people milling about inside.

They’re awkward as they stream into Griddy’s and squeeze into one booth. Luther, Allison and Ben on one side, Klaus, Diego and Vanya on the other. Usually, Five would be sitting where Vanya is, crammed against the wall, across from Ben. But he isn’t there and, when Vanya looks across the table, she can tell Ben is disappointed when he doesn’t see him.

They sit in silence, waiting, for what feels like a long time, but probably can’t be any more than ten minutes. It’s obvious that none of them knows what to say, none of them knows what to talk about and, while uncomfortable, they’re calm, which is unusual for them, when they’re all gathered together. Either they’ll all be laughing and smiling or they’ll be at each other’s throats. They’re almost never calm and certainly never quiet.

Vanya wants this to go well. Wants it to be pleasant because this was something Five loved doing, but at the same time it feels wrong to be enjoying it without him. So she stays quiet and wonders what her siblings are thinking. If this isn’t the first time they’ve gone out since it happened(because she isn’t entirely sure it is), have all their outings been like this? Or is it just because she’s there? Should she leave? Would they have a better time if she did?

The waitress who is at Griddy’s more often than she isn’t comes over, carrying a box that Vanya knows is stuffed full of all their favourites. Her uniform is as pink as ever and she smiles as she sets down the box. She falters for a moment, catching onto the mood of the table, but quickly plasters that smile back on and tells them to enjoy and that, as usual, they can go up to the counter for the check when they’re ready.

“It’s great to see you kids back again,” she adds. “I was getting worried!”

So it  _ is _ the first time they’ve come back? Or maybe they’ve just come when she hasn’t been working.

“Thank you, Agnes,” Allison says with a pleasant smile.

Agnes leaves and Luther opens the box. He hesitates for a moment before grabbing his usual and shoves the box to the middle of the table for everyone else to get theirs.

They begin reaching, but almost instantly, they all freeze. 

The box is stuffed full of three times the amount of doughnuts as it’s supposed to, which is normal, and right there, in the middle, are a handful of simple glazed doughnuts with chocolate - Five’s favourite.

They all like them, of course, they’re simple doughnuts, but they were  _ Five’s favourite _ and something about seeing them there without Five to reach out and grab them is upsetting.

Klaus recovers almost immediately and grabs one of the pink, sprinkle-covered ones, which spurs Allison into action and then Diego and then Vanya and Ben’s hands crash into each other as they go for the same chocolate one. Klaus snorts and then laughs as their hands hover around each other, continuously going for the same doughnut.

Allison rolls her eyes and grabs Ben’s wrist so Vanya is able to get hers. If Ben were any of their other siblings he probably would have, at the very least, looked annoyed, but he seems fine with it, relieved even, that he and Vanya’s hands are no longer going to be dancing around each other.

“Thanks,” she says as Allison lets go of Ben. She gives a smile in response.

This seems to be just what they needed, and they’re soon talking and arguing amongst themselves. Vanya sits quietly, listening to the sounds her siblings are making, but not really their words.

The doughnut isn’t her favourite, she prefers the simple glazed ones, but she’d picked it as a sort of commemoration for Five and, as wrong as it feels to be here without him, it’s kind of comforting. Warm and safe, like a home should be - the way theirs never was. Or maybe that’s just how Griddy’s is, it’s always been comfortable.

“ _ Klaus! _ ” Ben shouts, which is weird because Ben never shouts. It’s enough for Vanya to start paying attention and she sees that all of them are glaring at Klaus, who’s grinning.

“What?” he asks with a laugh, holding his hands up as if to say he’s done nothing wrong. Diego hits him hard in the arm. “ _ What? _ ”

“What is your  _ problem? _ ” Allison snaps.

“What? It’s a  _ joke _ . Did Five take this family’s sense of humour with him when he ran away?”

Something about that, maybe it’s the bluntness or the phrase  _ ‘ran away _ ’ or maybe it’s just far too soon, makes Vanya flinch and her eyes burn.

“ _ Klaus _ ,” Luther says, a sharp edge to his voice, a warning in his tone. He looks like he might get up and punch him.

Klaus takes a bite of his doughnut and says, “What, like  _ you  _ care.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re obviously one of the reasons he left,” he says matter of factly.

“ _ Klaus! _ ” Allison snaps.

“You  _ know _ I’m right. He’s always parroting everything Dad says, Five hated the old man so-”

“ _ I heard a rumor that you hit your head on the table. _ ”

Klaus’s head slams fiercely into the table, making a few of the doughnuts spill out of the box. For a moment, Vanya is scared that the table is going to topple over, but it just shakes and rattles, then settles.

“ _ Jesus _ , Klaus,” Ben says, voice uneven. He tries to discreetly wipe his eyes on his sleeve, but doesn’t really manage the  _ discreet _ part and knocks his elbow into the wall.

Agnes the waitress comes over, looking wary, and says, “Is everything alright over here?” and for  _ some _ reason that’s what makes Vanya start crying.

“We’re fine,” Allison says through gritted teeth, still glaring at Klaus. He holds a hand over his face, looking confused and offended and glaring right back.

Agnes seems unsure of what to do and eventually gives a wavering smile and says, “Well, let me know if any of you kids need anything.”

She leaves and Luther says, “I don’t see how you can pin Five leaving on  _ me _ when we all know he had an argument with Ben  _ right before _ he left!”

“ _ Luther _ ,” Allison says.

“ _ What _ ?” Ben chokes out over her. “You’re  _ blaming  _ me? What is your  _ problem _ ? You  _ know _ \- he - I - we-” He looks down to his lap and his fumbling is a clear sign of how upset he is. He’s usually so capable of formulating a response, but he’s just slammed his mouth shut and hidden his face, rubbing at his eyes.

“Nice j-j- Nice job, Luther.” Diego scowls and, judging by the way he jumps and the table rattles, he aims a kick at Luther.

“Hey!” Luther exclaims, reaching down to his leg.

“ _ Klaus! _ ” Vanya suddenly shouts, noticing the blood heavily falling from his nose.

“ _ Jesus _ , Klaus,” Allison says, “go clean yourself up.”

“Wh-  _ you _ made this happen!” Klaus points at his nose, showing off the red streaks and smears all over his face.

“ _ Clean up _ ,” Luther snaps.

Klaus grumbles to himself as he slides out of the booth and stalks through the otherwise empty diner to the bathrooms.

And then they’re silent again.

Vanya takes a bite of her doughnut, but it feels like cement in her mouth and doesn’t taste much better. She rubs at her eyes, still wet and overflowing, and stares at the table. At the powdered doughnut that had fallen out of the box and landed right in front of her, leaving the sugar everywhere.

And then Ben looks over to Luther and says, “You really think I made Five leave?” 

Luther looks cornered, like he wants to sink into the stiff plastic cushions of the booth and disappear. He looks at Ben with wide, genuine eyes and says, “I - That’s not what I meant-”

“Then what  _ did _ you mean?” Diego asks, harsh enough to make Luther almost flinch and blink like a lost baby fish.

“I just meant-” He fumbles over his words. “There’s - a lot of reasons why he left...” he finishes lamely.

“Well, you should have done a better job of saying that,” Ben snaps.

And then Vanya finds herself asking a question, voice small and uncertain. “Did he really leave on purpose?”

She thought that he hadn’t. She had been  _ so _ sure that Five hadn’t  _ wanted _ to leave. He hadn’t  _ run away,  _ he just... disappeared. But if everyone else thinks that he meant to leave, that he’d planned on it and is intentionally staying away, then maybe that’s what he did - what he’s doing.

Vanya can’t imagine Five staying away, he loves them all, she knows that, but maybe he hates Dad more than he loves them. Or maybe he doesn’t like them as much as she thought he did. Maybe she’s just  _ wrong _ and they’re all right.

Eventually, Allison says, “I don’t know,” and her voice is smaller than it’s ever been.

“You  _ don’t know _ ?” Diego demands. “ _ Obviously _ he didn’t! He w-wouldn’t do that!” Oh, thank  _ god _ , someone agrees with her. 

“If Five didn’t want to be gone he wouldn’t  _ be _ gone,” Luther snaps.

Diego slams his hands into the table, rising to his feet. “W-w-well, clearly you don’t know Five, because he would n- _ never _ leave us!”

“You think anything would be able to keep him from coming back if he wanted to come back? Just face it, Five left and he’s staying away!”

“He - he might come back,” Ben says. “Right?” He looks around the table. “He’ll come back. He has to.”

Allison, Luther and Diego, who slowly falls back into his seat, all look uncomfortable, unwilling to disagree and Vanya doesn’t even know if she agrees or not. She wants to believe that he’ll be back, she thinks he  _ does _ believe that he will be, but she doesn’t want to get her hopes up. Getting her hopes up usually just ends horribly. But she doesn’t want to dash Ben’s hope and doesn’t want to raise it for no reason either.

“Unbelievable,” he says when there’s no answer. “ _ Unbelievable _ .”

“Ben, we’re just trying to be realistic,” Allison says.

“Oh, so it’s not  _ realistic  _ that Five could come back?” Ben asks, voice raising. “That’s impossible now? You don’t think he can get himself out of whatever’s keeping him from coming back? Or do you think he doesn’t even  _ want  _ to be with us?”

Allison grits her teeth. “I  _ don’t know _ what I think.”

Ben glares at her, then turns his attention to Diego and Vanya. Angry, red eyed, upset. Vanya doesn’t know what to say and sinks into her seat as she mutters something about not being quite sure either.

“I - he would be here if he could be,” Diego says, stumbling over his words, not really saying what Ben wants to know and not acknowledging the implication that, if Five would be there if he could, there’s something stopping him. 

Vanya doesn’t want to think about what that might be because, when your brother can teleport, it’s hard to think of things that might keep him from doing something.

“Well he’s not,” Luther snaps. “If he wanted to be here, he would be.”

“Why wouldn’t he want to be here...?” Vanya asks. “He - I thought he - I  _ know _ he wouldn’t leave us behind.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean? You and Diego  _ both  _ say that like he left us in some horrible place. What’s so bad about being here?”

“ _ Everything _ ,” Diego spits and slaps the doughnut box right at Luther, spilling its contents all over him and making Allison yelp. “Y-y-you just don’t see it because your Dad’s  _ favourite _ and you can’t  _ imagine _ that maybe he doesn’t care about us! But F-Five knew it. And we  _ all _ know it.”

“Oh, are we having the Dad’s evil argument again?” Klaus asks as he slides back into his seat, tissues stuffed up his nostrils. He pouts when he sees the overturned box. “ _ Aw, doughnuts _ .” 

“Dad is  _ not _ evil,” Luther says, dusting some crumbs off his shirt and scowling. “He’s just a little strict-”

Diego scoffs and Ben says, “He’s more than a  _ little strict _ , Luther.”

“Can we -  _ not _ argue right now?” Allison asks and Vanya knows it isn’t about arguing or the situation, it’s about what they’re arguing about. Allison doesn’t mind fighting, she just hates this particular argument, probably more than even Luther does.

“Oh, so  _ now  _ you don’t want to argue,” Klaus says. “Where was that peacemaker attitude when you were giving me a bloody nose?”

“Okay, I didn’t  _ give you _ a bloody nose-”

“ _ You _ made me slam my head into the table!”

“Like you didn’t deserve it,” Diego snaps.

Klaus laughs. “What? I made a  _ joke _ -”

“You deserved it,” Ben tells him, frowning and batting away a doughnut.

“You did,” Luther agrees.

Vanya nods. “You did.”

Klaus makes a sound of disbelief, throwing his hands up into the air and standing. “You know what? I’m going! There’s some well deserved sleep I could be getting!”

Diego mutters something under his breath as a bell rings. The door closes, Klaus is gone and Allison is shoving at Luther’s side.

“Let’s just go,” she says. “This was a mistake. Come on, let’s just-”

Luther gets up, displacing a number of doughnuts and brushing crumbs off his clothes as Allison slides out of the booth behind him.

And then they’re gone as well and Vanya, Ben and Diego are sitting in silence.

“Is - um, is everything alright here?”

Agnes is standing at the table, eyeing the spilled doughnut box and empty seats. They’ve never left separately before.

Vanya nods when her brothers don’t answer. “We’re fine. I’m - sorry about the -the mess.”

And then, suddenly, Ben gets up and leaves without a word.

“Um, Diego,” Vanya says quietly, “didn’t Allison have the money.”

He looks over to her, opens his mouth, hesitates, eyes Agnes, then says, “Should we r-run for it?”

“What? I mean - no? We shouldn’t-”

“It’s fine,” Agnes says and Vanya and Diego both instantly go quiet. She’s smiling at them. “You don’t have to pay this time. Don’t worry about it.”

At once, with no warning, Vanya and Diego move and bolt out the diner.

“Well,” Diego says as they walk down the dark city streets, “that was a shitshow.”

Vanya sighs. “You can say that again.”


End file.
